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C O N F I D E N T I A L SECTION 01 OF 03 BUCHAREST 000371
SIPDIS
STATE FOR EUR/NCE - WILLIAM SILKWORTH
STATE ALSO FOR INR/B
E.O. 12958: DECL: 02/10/2015
TAGS: PGOVPRELKDEMSOCIPINRRO
SUBJECT: ROMANIAN LIBERAL PARTY DISPLAYS UNITY, AS
DEMOCRATIC PARTY ALLY ENTERS PERIOD OF DISCORD
Classified By: POLITICAL SECTION CHIEF ROBERT GILCHRIST FOR REASONS 1.4
B AND D
¶1. (C) Summary. Delegates to the congress of Romania's
center-right National Liberal Party (PNL), the largest party
in the governing alliance, strongly endorsed Prime Minister
Tariceanu's bid for PNL President. Delegates also turned
down for the time being a proposed merger with the Democratic
Party (PD). Contrasting sharply with PNL party unity
displayed during the congress, PD has gone through a period
of internal discord following President Train Basescu's
constitutionally required departure from the party upon
becoming president. End Summary.
Liberals confirm Tariceanu and his team...
------------------------------------------
¶2. (C) The PNL,s February 4-5 party congress in Bucharest
gathered more than 1500 PNL activists from across Romania.
Delegates resoundingly endorsed PM Calin Popescu Tariceanu as
PNL President with a vote of 1,110 &yea8 to 161 &nay.8
The vote underscores the fact that Tariceanu, who ran
unopposed for the party presidency has consolidated his
leadership position within the PNL following former PNL
leader and presidential candidate Teodor Stolojan's
resignation in 2004. With Tariceanu's stamp of approval, the
PNL congress also endorsed a slate of five vice-chairmen,
eight Central Permanent Bureau members and three
&alternate8 bureau members. The vice chairmen include
leading PNL figures such as Culture Minister Mona Musca,
Agriculture Minister Gheorghe Flutur and Senate Vice
President Teodor Melescanu. One of the three &alternate8
Central Permanent Bureau members is Foreign Minister Mihai
Razvan Ungureanu, initially touted by the media and analysts
as a political independent, but later revealed to have
&discreetly8 been a PNL member.
... But fail to endorse merger with Democratic Party
--------------------------------------------- -------
¶3. (C) Delegates overwhelmingly rejected outspoken party
member and former PNL President Valeriu Stoica,s call for a
PNL merger with its smaller governing ally, the Democratic
Party (PD). Although a PNL-PD merger was touted by several
PNL and PD activists prior to national elections this fall,
plans to further consolidate the PNL-PD governing alliance
are on hold for now. PNL leaders assert publicly, and tell
Embassy officers privately, that they ultimately favor a
merger with the PD ) but just not right now. Both PNL and
PD are focused instead on consolidating the newly elected
PNL-PD alliance government. According to PD interim
President Emil Boc, "We have different priorities now. The
PNL-PD Alliance...should focus on observing the governing
program, signing the EU accession treaty set for April and on
keeping the pledges made during the electoral campaign."
Indeed, during the party congress Tariceanu suggested that
the PNL would be in favor of a merger at some later date if
the PD agrees, although one PNL deputy emphasized to PolOff
that any merger with the PD would have to "take into account
PNL,s larger membership."
¶4. (C) PD leaders, on the other hand, are more skeptical of a
merger, especially given the PNL's relatively strong
bargaining position based on its size. One PD insider
recently told PolOff that although "top level" PD leaders
agree with the merger concept, PD local representatives will
likely squawk loudly at any merger plans, seeking to preserve
their political turf at PNL's expense. Political observers
also note that &cultural8 considerations may also come into
play: the PNL tends to attract rather more polished, urban
businesspersons and intellectuals, while the rough-hewn
Basescu sets a more populist tone for the PD.
¶5. (C) There have also been debates both between and within
PNL and PD on the character of a unified movement and over
which bloc the new party would align itself with in the EU
Parliament. Some vocal PNL members have staunchly defended
PNL's "liberal tradition stretching back 130 years" and have
compared abandoning the party's ideals to apostasy. Others
have advocated merging with PD and Romania's now small
Peasants-Christian Democratic Party (PNTCD) into a large,
center-right populist movement aligned with the European
People's Party in the EU Parliament. In contrast, in a
conversation with PolChief, one PD leader envisioned the two
parties remaining separate, with PNL remaining on the
center-right and PD eventually eclipsing the opposition
Social Democratic Party (PD) as the primary party of the
center-left. Nearly all agree, however, that barring
near-term elections, a decision over a merger can be delayed
for now. One PNL-oriented think tank in Bucharest released a
report rejecting the idea of merger this year, as the new
government should focus on "keeping its campaign promises."
Virtual EU Members?
-------------------
¶6. (C) Former European Parliament Romania Rapporteur,
outspoken British Baroness and Liberal EU Parliament Member
Emma Nicholson, delivered one of several opening speeches at
the PNL congress, declaring that, despite its 2007 accession
goal, Romania is &virtually8 a member of the EU already.
Alluding to President Basescu,s references to a
&Bucharest-London-Washington8 axis, she asserted that
Romania should consider itself as part of an axis that
includes Brussels as well as Bucharest, London, and
Washington. Nicholson also encouraged PNL to align with the
Alliance for Liberals and Democrats bloc in the EU
Parliament. The delegates politely applauded Nicholson, who
is widely known in Romania for her strident criticism of
international adoptions. During her trip, Nicholson also met
with Basescu, Tariceanu, and others in the new government.
PNL insider Christian David, now a cabinet member, noted to
PolChief that Nicholson remains close with many at the top of
the PNL and has promised to advocate for the new government
in Brussels.
PNL Praise for Stolojan, Commitment to Alliance
--------------------------------------------- --
¶7. (C) PNL Congress delegates broke into a lengthy and
spontaneous ovation for outgoing PNL President Theodor
Stolojan when Humanist Party (PUR) founder and leader Dan
Voiculescu effusively praised his effective stewardship of
the PNL. Within the PNL, Stolojan is credited with
successfully uniting the hitherto fractious party. Other
keynote speakers included PD Deputy Prime Minister Adriean
Videanu and ethnic Hungarian Party (UDMR) Senator Peter
Eckstein-Kovacs, the outspoken leader of UDMR,s "liberal
faction" oriented towards reform and free market economics.
Videanu, Eckstein-Kovacs, and Voiculescu all delivered the
same implicit message: that the PNL-PD-UDMR-PUR governing
alliance remains united. Voiculescu,s (PUR) presence at the
podium also tacitly reinforced the message that his party
intends to remain a member of the governing alliance, despite
earlier reports that its loyalty might be wavering.
¶8. (C) PNL insiders confide to us that despite the PNL
congress' public display of unity, unresolved tensions still
exist. Stoica, who leads the movement for prompt merger with
PD and has criticized the party's leadership, remains a
public voice of dissent. Another potential catalyst for PNL
discord comes from Rompetrol owner Dinu Patriciu, a vocal
critic of the alliance with PD. Stoica and Patriciu joined
forces in September 2004 to lobby for "more effective" party
leadership. In addition, anticipating a Nastase win in the
December 12 second round of presidential elections, Patriciu
was rumored to have entered discussions with senior leaders
of the PSD to discuss a potential PSD-PNL coalition or other
alliance. The rumored talks reportedly soured relations
between Basescu and Patriciu, which were already strained.
The PNL congress, however, was a time for burying divisions
within the party. And despite the sometimes divisive views
of Stoica, Patriciu, and others, all unified in supporting
Tariceanu's candidacy as party president.
Democratic Party Discord
------------------------
¶9. (C) Contrasting sharply with PNL party unity, the PD over
the same period entered a phase of internal discord played
out publicly in the press. The conflict lay fundamentally in
a vacuum at the top of the party left by Basescu's departure
for the Romanian presidency. Under the constitution, the
president is forbidden from being a member of any political
party. Cluj mayor, and former PD parliamentary leader, Emil
Boc remains acting chairman and is held in very high esteem
by Basescu and most within the PD, although his verbose and
occasionally abrasive style antagonizes some within the
party. Moreover, his physical distance from the capital and
the day-to-day dealings in the parliament have, in the words
of one junior PD member, left the PD "without a rudder" in
Bucharest.
¶10. (C) PD deputy -- and former Social Democratic Party (PSD)
insider -- Cozmin Gusa has been among the most strident in
seeking a top leadership position in the party. Gusa was a
senior member of the campaign team and played a key role in
naming a large number of young and inexperienced PD activists
to the party list to enter parliament. However, since the
elections he has found himself out of favor with Basescu and
with more senior members of the PD. Expecting nomination as
PNL-PD candidate to replace Basescu as mayor of Bucharest, he
found himself with no formal leadership position in the
government or the party. Gusa confided to PolChief that
"Basescu stopped returning calls." According to the press,
this fallout may surround Gusa's potential links with Moscow
and the KGB. While still a PSD member, Gusa traveled to
Moscow in 1992 to propose a protocol between Moscow and the
PSD. The media has also alleged that he had a special
relationship with former Romanian Intelligence Service (SRI)
Chief (1990-1997), Virgil Magureanu. Well aware of these
allegations, Gusa approached us in recent days in an attempt
to discount these suspicions. In Gusa's telling of the tale,
his supposed Russian "contacts" were embellished by ex-PM
Nastase in an attempt to diminish Gusa's attractiveness
within the Social Democratic Party (PSD.)
¶11. (C) At the same time, Gusa's perceived opportunism and
outspokenness earned him few allies among more established
members of the alliance. Many PNL-PD members blame him for
the election of former PSD Prime Minister Adrian Nastase as
president of the Chamber. While the vote for that position
was being carried out, Gusa instructed PNL-PD deputies to
leave the Chamber in the belief that the vote was being
rigged in favor of Nastase. A number of PNL-PD deputies now
believe that Nastase would have been defeated had they
remained and voted against him.
¶12. (C) Sensing his proverbial fall from grace and attempting
to flex his muscle in the party, Gusa made a bid for the PD
leadership. A group of seventeen of his junior supporters,
including several MPs, signed a document in early February
purportedly backing Gusa for the PD presidency. The bid
resulted in a public backlash from more senior PD members,
including Minister of State Adriean Videanu and former
Industry Minister Radu Berceaunu, who accused Gusa of working
outside of normal party procedures. Gusa's core of young
supporters retorted that Gusa represented young Romanians and
would lead the party "in the tradition of Basescu." The
public disagreement led Basescu to intercede by stating
publicly that "gangs have no place in the PD," a clear
reference to Gusa and his cohorts.
¶13. (C) Gusa took the disagreement further. He denounced
Basescu in a February 7 interview with leading Bucharest
daily "Ziua" for &interfering8 in the party,s activities
and claimed that Basescu is being blackmailed for alleged
collaboration with the communist-era secret police )-
allegations Basescu hotly denies. Boc accused Gusa of
political &immaturity,8 claiming that he is seeking
&publicity at any price.8 Gusa and two of his prominent
supporters responded by resigning February 8 from the PD
Standing Bureau. PD is expected to vote within the next few
days to expel them.
¶14. (C) One young PD member confided to post that the
conflict within PD over Gusa has left many in the party,
particularly young members, even more confused about PD's
direction. Gusa is also expected to remain in the Parliament
as an independent, a position from which many are concerned
he will continue to launch potentially damaging allegations
at Basescu and Tariceanu. In addition, the expulsion of Gusa
and the two other MPs will reduce by three the coalition's
already narrow majority in parliament.
¶15. (C) Comment. Prior to PNL-PD's electoral victory in
December, a standard accusation against the parties of the
center-right was that they would lapse into infighting if
elected to government. Indeed, this was the fatal flaw of
the 1996-2000 center-right government - a point the PSD
successfully stressed during its "comeback" presidential and
parliamentary election victories in the 2000 elections and
also highlighted during the 2004 elections. Thus far, PNL
and PD have not fallen into that trap, and the alliance
between them remains strong. However, some political
observers have pointed out that the two parties'
vulnerability may not be fighting between them, but from
within - each is comprised of a number of strong
personalities and party discipline remains weak when compared
with that of the opposition PSD. Deferment on a decision to
merge removes one potential disruption for the alliance, at
least for now. In addition, the distribution of new
positions in government and parliament has kept many top and
mid-level members content and relatively quiet. With time,
however, cracks within the alliance may become apparent --
some PNL-PD insiders have expressed concern that Gusa's fall
from grace was merely the first. End Comment.
¶16. (U) Amembassy Bucharest,s reporting telegrams are
available on the Bucharest SIPRNET Website:
www.state.sgov.gov/p/eur/bucharest .
DELARE